TACH SPECIAL: Jarrett's Crew Delivers On Time

By David Treffer
Contributing Editor, The Auto Channel

March 19, 2001

UPS' motto "We Deliver" was well represented by Dale Jarrett's pit crew in the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400. The UPS sponsored Robert Yates Racing team delivered a last-minute pit stop that was on time and in a hurry. The quick (14.2 seconds) pit stop allowed Jarrett to squeeze out a .527 second victory margin over the speedy Steve Park. The victory also marked Ford's first of the season breaking Chevrolet's streak of four straight in the 2001 season.

Jarrett's victory, his 25th in Winston Cup racing, propelled him to the top of the Winston Cup standings with 756 points and a 65 point lead over Sterling Marlin and Johnny Benson.

The race day field rolled off with Jeff Gordon leading the field. Points determined the starting grid as the Saturday qualifying session was postponed due to heavy fog. From the start it appeared that Gordon was going to put on an driving exhibition as he pulled out to a three second lead over the rest of the field. By day's end Gordon's familiar #24 was parked in the garage with a blown motor and a 40th place finish. The poor finish dropped Gordon from the top of the standings to fourth place.

For Park, the second place finish was a disappointing loss. Park led the most laps (159) and appeared to be on his way to score a victory for Dale Earnhardt, Inc (DEI). What Park could not have counted on was the quick pit stop by Jarrett's crew during the last round of pit stops and then the ensuing red-flag situation that occurred just two laps latter. After the race Park commented, "Man, this race was tough. We had a great car and the crew did everything right. it just wasn't our turn. My car ran better the longer we stayed green. We just ran out of laps. I knew that Dale was going to be tough to catch if he got in front of me."

The race was red-flagged with ten laps to go when Mike Skinner and Rusty Wallace tangled going into turn 3. Skinner's car spun wildly into the outside retaining wall. The severe impact crushed the rear-section of the #31 Lowe's Chevrolet. The impact also severed the fuel line, which caused the fuel to ignite and engulf Skinner's car in flames. Skinner was able to extricate himself from the burning vehicle before the emergency crew arrived. Also caught up in the melee was Terry Labonte. Both drivers escaped harm.

Another driver who shared in Park's disappointment was Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson. During the next to last pit stop his pit crew missed tightening the lug nuts on the right rear tire. By the time the pit crew corrected the situation, Benson had lost the lead and was relegated to finish in seventh. The situation was so agonizing to crew chief Jim Ince that he borrowed Jeff Gordon's Rainbow Warriors during the last pit stop to demonstrate how a pit stop should be conducted. In spite of the seventh place finish, Benson moved into a tie with Sterling Marlin for second place in the point's standings. No doubt that Benson's crew will be examining the videotape of the pit stops during the coming week. Who knows maybe even a call to UPS might be in the works.

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